Treatment for Existing Dental Implant Disease

Treatment for Dental Implant Complications

Dr. Russo and Dr. Braga will sometimes see new patients who received Implants in the past and are now having problems with them. Although the vast majority of implant placements are successful, a very small percentage of them develop complications that need special treatment or replacement with a new implant.

Experienced Dental Implant care specialist

Dr. Russo and Dr. Braga are very experienced at addressing implant complications and use advanced technology to restore the stability and health of implants that can be treated and saved. Drs. Russo and Braga are both Specialists in Periodontics and Dental Implants, having completed an additional 3 year Full Time Specialty Training in Dental Surgery following their Dental School.

As leaders in their profession both Dr. Russo and Dr. Braga strive to maintain their position at the forefront of these advancements. They accomplish this by being active in university academia, dental education and comprehensive multidisciplinary dental study clubs with their colleagues.

Sources of Dental Implant Complications

Unfortunately in today’s Dentistry one of the most common scenarios we see for failing or failed implants is due to poor quality dentistry. This may be the result of a number of reasons including:

Implant Surgeons cutting costs by “cutting corners” and not accurately treating the patient with surgical guides, 3-D scans and necessary grafting to properly house the implant in the correct and healthy location

Although initially cutting corners may save on cost, in the long run it often leads to far more expensive procedures to correct the problems or replace the implants.

There is much a consumer must know before selecting the right dentist to perform their dental implant surgery. Always remember that you’re not just purchasing an implant, but the training of the surgeon and the expertise to properly place them.

Implant complications are rare. However, when they do happen, the main sources of difficulties are as follows:

Failure to integrate
An implant can be set in the wrong position or placed where there is inadequate bone support. Sometimes the implant is placed properly but the bone surrounding it fails to integrate with the implant. This leads to implant instability and it can become loose. It is also more susceptible to infection when placement or bone integration is flawed.

Infection
An infected dental implant will often be surrounded by redness, swelling, or a bad taste.

Most infection takes the form of a special type of gum disease known as peri-implantitis. Peri-implantitis is characterized by infection of the gums with bone loss around the implant. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

failure to diagnose and graft if necessary sufficient bone or gingiva to support the implant

poor oral hygiene

dental cement for the crown getting under the gum line

Smoking

health problems such as diabetes

It can occasionally be the result of bite alignment problems putting excessive pressure on the implant.

Dr’s. Russo & Braga will perform a thorough exam to determine the best treatment for implant complications.

Periodontal Charting, an X-ray, and in some cases a 3-D Scan will be needed for proper diagnosis and treatment to accurately determine the level of bone support and if any bone loss has occurred.

If the examination shows the implant complication is treatable and the implant can be saved Dr’s. Russo & Braga will diagnose the problem and discuss your treatment options with you. This may include treating the implant with periodontal surgery and grafting to regenerate the lost bone and gingiva from the infection.

If the implant is too compromised to be saved, it may have to removed, the surgical defect corrected, and the implant subsequently replaced. In this case, we will thoroughly describe the treatment needed for a new implant and will answer any of your questions.

Before & After Photo of Soft Tissue Grafting at Anterior Dental Implant. Note Coverage of Implant Recession and increase in thick healthy tissue.